Just Like Arthur
by rejooc
Summary: When Arthur becomes concerned about Percy's reclusive tendencies, Molly shows him where they came from and Arthur tries an experiment, learning more about his boy than he expected to.


**A/N: This world belongs to JKR.**

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 **Written for:**

 **Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry, Hufflepuff**

 **Psychology:** **Task:** Write about a child demonstrating learned behaviour from an adult or role model. **Prompt** **:** (Plot point) Experiment.

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The Weasley household was always busy and always loud, and Percy was always different. He wasn't particularly interested in Quidditch or pretending to duel with his brothers and was more often found huddled in his room reading a book or playing with a toy by himself. Arthur was so busy with work that he didn't notice Percy developing this habit until it was already well-ingrained into the boy.

"Molly," he called softly one night as he stepped off the creaky staircase and into the kitchen. "You don't think anything's wrong with him, do you?"

"Wrong with who, dear?" She placed a gentle kiss on his cheek as she walked by, her stout little legs carrying her to the next mess she aimed to clean.

"With Percy," Arthur responded, glancing back up the stairs to make sure he was out of ear shot. "He's always alone, just playing with odd things or reading."

To his surprise, Molly only chuckled, smiling sweetly as if Arthur was the silliest man she'd met. He knew that he probably was but didn't understand how she'd reached that conclusion in this moment. "Oh, Arthur, you know where he gets it don't you?" His brows furrowed and his lower lip jutted out, a soft pout he'd learned from his father.

With another small smile, Molly grabbed her husband by the hand and led him outside. Crickets and bullfrogs croaked their songs through the cold night air and the grounds were illuminated by all the light pouring out of the Burrow. Padding delicately down the dirt path from the front door of the Burrow to the small shed where Arthur spent most of his free time when he wasn't with the kids, Molly never let go of his hand. He couldn't help smiling, too. She pushed open the creaky door and stood aside, gesturing for Arthur to go in first.

" _Lumos,_ " she whispered behind him, as if the sound of her voice might disturb the tranquility of the shed. A small orb of light lit at the end of her wand and she pointed at a spot in the center of the ceiling, whispering something and anchoring the light there instead. "This is where he gets it," she said finally.

Scattered around the small room were an array of books, knickknacks, and half-done experiments. One shelf in the back displayed a variety of mechanical devices that Arthur had found and attempted to fix or learn more about. In some cases, he'd been wildly successful combining magic and Muggle technology. In others, not so much.

"He's been trying to see if he can make eleksissery with a potato," Molly mused, watching Arthur. He smiled and nodded, not correcting her—she had no reason to know what electricity was. "He sees you doing your experiments, working on your gadgets, reading your books, and he wants to do the same thing."

Awestruck, Arthur didn't say much in response. They simply put their arms around each other, flicked the light off, and returned to the Burrow for the night. The next morning was Arthur's day off, and he was excited to spend the time with his family. Originally, he'd planned on testing some spells on a Muggle device called a telly, to see if he could catch any of the signals they used to watch their programs. Today, however, he wanted to set a different example, and try a little experiment.

As usual, the Weasleys gathered for breakfast together at the dining table, laughing and eating cheerfully. However, when the meal was over and the boys got ready to do whatever they'd planned for the day, Arthur remained in the kitchen. There wasn't much he could to help his wife as she'd already magicked the dishes into washing themselves, the counter into cleaning itself, and the leftovers into storing themselves, so he leaned against the table and just chatted instead. Knowing what he was doing, Molly didn't ask or make a show of it. However, it wasn't long before Percy noticed and curiosity got the better of him.

"What're you doing, father?" the little boy piped up, watching his parents cautiously from the foot of the stairs.

Arthur turned to face him, smiling brightly. "Do you want to join us? You can chat, too?"

"But…." Percy's small face furrowed, his lower lip jutting out. "Why? Don't you have experiments to do?"

"I could," Arthur admitted, bobbling his head in a partial nod. "But those things aren't really the most important. I want to spend time with your mom and your brothers."

Slowly and very cautiously, as though he suspected some sort of trick, Percy made his way back to the dining table and took a seat. It wasn't particularly long before his brothers noticed and made their way to the table as well, joining in the conversation raucously. By the time the morning was finished, Arthur was positively exhausted. Between managing each of his boys' personalities and actually taking a bit of time to focus on Molly, he seemed to have worn himself out. When the others went outside to play, Arthur sat down besides Percy and put his head on top of the boy's red curls.

"What do you think of a nap?" he asked quietly.

Percy nodded eagerly and they made their way into Arthur and Molly's room, curling up on top of the covers, a small smile adorning both their faces.


End file.
